Energy Sector Strength Leads To New Record High On Bay Street

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks moved moderately higher during trading on Monday, extending the strong upward move seen last Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 62.89 points or 0.3 percent to 23,348.97 adding to the 1.1 percent jump seen in the previous session to reach a new record closing high.

The continued advance on Bay Street partly reflected strength among energy stocks, with the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index shooting up by 1.6 percent.

Energy stocks moved higher along with the price of crude oil, as crude for October delivery has surged $2.19 to $77.02 a barrel.

The sharp increase by the price of crude oil comes amid geopolitical concerns after Israel and Hezbollah traded a barrage of strikes across the Lebanon border.

Consumer discretionary stocks also saw strength on the day, while most of the other major sectors showed only modest moves on the day.